


Midnight in Myeong-dong

by midnight_bird



Category: D-Day (jTBC)
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Hats, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, This fandom needs more fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-10 23:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12310413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnight_bird/pseuds/midnight_bird
Summary: Woo-jin and Hae-sung take a break from their med studies and head out on Christmas night to Myeong-dong.





	Midnight in Myeong-dong

**Author's Note:**

> Set during episode 08 (flashback).

“Wow,” Hae-sung breathed, watching Woo-jin neatly tie off the strings he’d just struggled to control. “You are the god of suture. How can you make it so consistent?”

Woo-jin only smiled in response.

“When will I become like you?” Hae-sung wondered.

Woo-jin set his hand, warm and steady, on the back of Hae-sung’s neck. “For you,” Woo-jin said, “I’ll teach you all the techniques and methods I know.”

A soft glow of happiness filled Hae-sung, like the fairy lights he’d put up in their room. “Really?” He asked. “Why?”

“I’m thankful that you chose our department.” Woo-jin headed for the door, patting Hae-sung on the back, as he did. “Let’s go out. It’s Christmas.”

The glow inside Hae-sung grew stronger and he half-skipped after his friend. “I will catch up to you someday,” he promised, knowing with the comfort of surety that Woo-jin would take his aspiration as a compliment and not a threat. Woo-jin was that genuine rarity — a man with great ambition and groundbreaking skill who readily recognized talent and drive in others without begrudging it. It was one of the reasons they got along so well.

They headed for Myeong-dong. It was the place to go on Christmas and Woo-jin, ever socially aware, had driven them there. Hae-sung didn’t mind too much, though he might have preferred somewhere a bit less commercial. The light displays were impressive that year, though, and the vibe of the crowd was infectiously upbeat. Music blared out of the storefronts and restaurants in a mishmash of Christmas songs and popular tunes.

As they passed a display of festive hats, he swerved toward them, drawn by their bright colours and catchy patterns. Woo-jin followed and Hae-sung had a sudden image of the serious med student wearing one of the hats. He glanced at him and burst out laughing.

Woo-jin’s brow furrowed. “What’s so funny?”

Hae-sung shook his head. “Nothing,” he said. He stilled his laughter, but he couldn’t keep his lips from quirking upwards.

Woo-jin was browsing through the display; picking up the hats idly and turning them about in his graceful hands. His movements were economic and fluid as always and Hae-sung felt a shivery heat run down his spine as he watched. It wasn’t a new sensation. He was a physician in training not a robot and they were living in the same room for god’s sake. But Hae-sung had elected to studiously ignore the persistent pull of Woo-jin, in the way he overlooked an ache in his back during a complicated surgical exercise.

Woo-jin raised a green elf hat with silver bells and white, fluffy trim to examine it. He shook it so it jingled prettily. And then he smiled faintly.

“Try it on!” Hae-sung blurted. He felt his face go hot immediately, because what was he doing? Woo-jin wasn’t _silly_. He didn’t do things like this.

But tonight, apparently, was different, because Woo-jin spread the hat open in his hands and pulled it on over his head, tugging it down until it covered his ears. It fit well and it accentuated the gleam of his eyes in the shop light. Hae-sung swallowed. He wanted to stroke a finger down the cheap crushed fabric.

“It suits you,” he said, aiming for a teasing tone, but falling short. “Come on,” he continued. “I’ll buy it for you.”

They left the shop with Woo-jin still wearing the hat and Hae-sung wearing a smile he couldn’t school away. As they walked down the street, he watched the crowds pass by, all dressed in their holiday best and many of the young adults arm in arm. Myeong-dong was increasingly known as the place where couples went on Christmas, particularly after eleven, because at midnight, the custom was to stand in the street and kiss.

“Let’s stop here,” Woo-jin said, halting by a stall selling eomuk tang.

The smell was overwhelmingly mouthwatering and the hot steam from the broth was even better.

Hae-sung abruptly realized he hadn’t eaten since noon and he nodded enthusiastically. “Good call, Woo-jin.”

They ate and drank until they were almost groaning. Then Woo-jin suggested getting hot chocolate, so they set off down the street once more.

“Not that I don’t appreciate it,” Hae-sung said, digging his fingers deeper into his pockets in a vain effort to keep them warm, “but why are you spending tonight with me?”

Woo-jin just glanced at him, his expression unreadable.

“I mean,” Hae-sung pointed his chin at the couples accumulating around them. “Why aren’t you out with someone?”

“I am out with someone.”

Hae-sung blinked. “I meant someone to, you know…” He kissed his fingertips and blew the kiss to an imaginary sweetheart.

Woo-jin caught Hae-sung’s fingers in his own, sure, warm ones. And Hae-sung forgot how to breathe.

“We could do that…” Woo-jin said, his voice low but steady before it trailed off.

Hae-sung stared at him. His blood was roaring in his ears so loudly that it drowned out the music and the crowds.

“Hae-sung?” Woo-jin’s tone was uncertain. “Hae-sung, I didn’t mean to offen—”

Hae-sung shook his head before Woo-jin could finish whatever misguided apology he was attempting. “It’s fine. It’s okay, Woo-jin. I mean it’s more than okay—” He was babbling. He hadn’t babbled since he started med school. Well, not this much at least and…

He stepped back and took a deep breath, then looked Woo-jin in the eye. “Would you really do that?” He asked, heart pounding at his own daring.

“It’s not midnight yet, Hae-sung.”

“No, it’s not,” Hae-sung admitted. “We still have time for hot chocolate.”

The line for the café counter was long, but inside it was warm and Woo-jin was standing just a bit closer to Hae-sung than usual, so that by the time they received their steaming cups, Hae-sung was no longer cold in the slightest. He breathed in deeply the rich fragrance of his hot chocolate. Then he took a tentative sip and glanced over the rim of his cup at Woo-jin, who was quite sensibly waiting to taste his until the drink was no longer scalding. Hae-sung burned his tongue but he barely noticed.

He’d almost convinced himself that just being near Woo-jin, watching him; working with him as they both rose to greater and greater heights together would be enough. Christmas kisses were for the boys and girls walking outside the café windows. Not for wild-haired med students who had hopeless crushes on their decidedly male roommates.

Their drinks began to cool and Woo-jin finally started on his, taking long sips with his head tilted back and his laryngeal prominence bobbing at each swallow. Hae-sung forced himself to tear his eyes away, because the sight was too much. He concentrated instead on finishing his own drink and trying to keep his knee from jogging uncontrollably in nervous anticipation.

Then Woo-jin glanced at his watch and Hae-sung realized it was almost time. Were they really going to do this? He glanced at Woo-jin, but his expression was hard to read. Had he really meant his offer? Hae-sung knew he had to give Woo-jin an out. Their friendship was more important than Hae-sung’s foolish romantic dreams after all.

He set his empty cup on the table. “We don't have—” He started, but Woo-jin laid a hand on his wrist, silencing him.

“Do you want to?” He asked.

Hae-sung couldn't deny it. He nodded slightly. “But only if you do.”

Woo-jin stood up and his grip on Hae-sung meant Hae-sung had to follow. “Come on,” Woo-jin said. “It's bad luck to be late.”

He led Hae-sung out of the café and onto the street once more. The temperature had definitely dropped while they were inside and the frigid night air hit Hae-sung so suddenly that he gasped.

“You should have worn a proper coat,” Woo-jin said in a tone halfway between a rebuke and concern. “There's next to no fat on your bones.”

“I didn't plan on going out tonight,” Hae-sung explained. “If you hadn't saved me with those beautiful sutures, I'd probably still be working on them.”

Woo-jin looked away at that. He'd never been comfortable with compliments. There was something in him, Hae-sung had noted, that refused to believe in his own worthiness, as though whatever he might achieve was a happy accident and not the result of endless hard work. But Hae-sung knew better.

“You're going to be one hell of an amazing surgeon,” he said. “I almost wish I needed one, just so I could experience your skills firsthand.”

Woo-jin’s face went dark. “Don't say that, Hae-sung.” He pulled him into a shadowed corner between two buildings, close enough to the street that they could still observe the decorations, but far enough that they were mostly out of sight. “I don't want to think about operating on you.” He shrugged out of his vest and reached up to set it over Hae-sung's shoulders.

Hae-sung felt his throat tighten at Woo-jin's care. For all Woo-jin might seem cold to strangers, underneath his professional veneer was a good heart. One of the best.

“Woo-jin,” Hae-sung whispered.

“Hush,” he replied. “It's almost time.”

They both looked down at Woo-jin's watch, where it glowed faintly on his wrist. _11:58... 11:59…_

Hae-sung was hyper-aware of the way Woo-jin's hand settled on the back of his neck, steady and gentle as always, but somehow far more intimate tonight. Perhaps it was because Woo-jin’s breath went ever so slightly uneven in the space between them. Hae-sung's hands were trembling. He clenched the vest edges to still them.

_12:00._

Woo-jin’s grip tightened ever so slightly on Hae-sung. Then he was pulling Hae-sung in and tilting his head down. His lips brushed Hae-sung’s so gently that at first Hae-sung wasn’t sure if he’d only imagined it. But Woo-jin’s warm breath was there like a whisper on his skin.

Hae-sung closed his eyes and felt Woo-jin deepen the kiss very slowly. There was a bittersweet hint of the chocolate Woo-jin had drunk on his lips and Hae-sung craved more of it. He slid his tongue out and lapped softly against Woo-jin’s mouth, asking silent permission. Woo-jin’s lips parted on a quiet exhale, so Hae-sung continued, following the chocolate, following the beautiful heat of Woo-jin’s mouth. It was somehow both heady and comforting at once.

Woo-jin’s hand on the back of Hae-sung’s neck slid forward to caress his jaw, then down to his neck, where his thumb rubbed circles into the hollow of Hae-sung’s suprasternal notch. Hae-sung’s whole body went abruptly feverish at the unexpected touch. He brought his hands up to take Woo-jin by the biceps and began stroking and sucking on his tongue in earnest. Woo-jin moaned in response, a startlingly broken, pained sound.

Hae-sung's eyes flew open and he pulled back to look at Woo-jin as best he could in the low light of their corner. “Is this… Are you alright, Woo-jin?’

Woo-jin didn't meet his gaze. Hae-sung wanted to reach out and tilt his chin up so he could look him in the eye, but he restrained himself. What if he'd gone too far already?

Then Woo-jin spoke, quiet and regretful. “I’m sorry, Hae-sung.”

Hae-sung's heart dropped, but he forced himself to take a deep breath and let it go. It wasn't Woo-jin's fault that he didn't want the same thing as Hae-sung. After all, what Hae-sung wanted was no small thing. He knew that. He knew it too well.

“It's alright. You don't have to apologise,” he said. “I shouldn't have—”

“I'm sorry I made you _wait_.” Woo-jin shook his head. “I don't have your courage, Hae-sung. I knew you wanted this but I pretended not to want it too.” He sighed. “I was afraid to admit it—even to myself.”

“I don't blame you,” Hae-sung said, setting his hands on Woo-jin's shoulders. “I was prepared to never say a thing, for the sake of our friendship.”

“We’re fools,” Woo-jin said, voice tinged with ironic humour. “Both of us.”

Hae-sung grinned and pressed a kiss to Woo-jin’s forehead. “At least we’re fools together.” He guided Woo-jin out of the shadows and back toward the street. “Come on,” he said. “I want to find a hat to match yours.”

Woo-jin shook his head as he followed Hae-sung. “It’s a good thing Christmas only comes once a year,” he replied. But his smile was brighter than the lights of Myeong-dong.

**Author's Note:**

> Unbetaed. Civil feedback is appreciated. // Not mine. Please don’t sue.


End file.
